Hundreds of thousands of NETeller customers have begun accessing funds from their accounts after months of legal wrangling with the beleaguered online e-wallet, withdrawing a total of $70 million so far.

NETeller reached an agreement with the US Attorney's Office last month, to give customers access to their accounts after as many as 250,000 accounts with positive balances had been frozen since January. The move followed an investigation into the company on charges ranging from money laundering to racketeering.

NETeller customer Mark Kundinger, withdrew $4,900 on the first day he was able to gain access to his account: “When I got my money back, it felt as if I had won the jackpot in a weird way,' said the 32-year-old Californian.

The world-renowned e-wallet, popular with those in the online gambling industry, still maintains operations in 160 countries and is contemplating another foray into the US market in non gambling sectors according to company spokesman Andrew Gilchrist.